When the race got underway there were cars everywhere at the start, with several drivers off the road at Turn Two. A couple of corners later Alessio Lorandi ran into the back of Nicholas Latifi causing a Safety Car.

When the order settled, Nirei Fukuzumi, who had started from reverse grid pole, was still in the lead, but he was quickly hunted down by Russell who took the lead on lap five.

From there, the Mercedes junior driver drove a brilliantly-controlled race to take victory - even when the rain arrived at the midpoint of the race.

After a couple of difficult laps on slicks, most of the field pitted for wets on lap 13, but Charouz left both their drivers out gambling on the track drying. While they briefly led, it backfired as both Antonio Fuoco and Louis Deletraz finishing out of the points.